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  • Daiga Grantina, Saules Suns, 2019. Materials: metal, wood, cotton, flax fibres, plastics, threads, led lights, paper, acrylic paint. Dimensions variable. Detail view of Installation

Latvia Pavilion announces the title and theme of Daiga Grantiņa’s upcoming exposition at the 58thVenice Biennale

Kim? Contemporary Art Centre and Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art together with the artist Daiga Grantiņa, Minister for Culture Dace Melbārde, curators Inga Lāce and Valentinas Klimašauskas, and director of the Latvian National Museum of Art Māra Lāce announced the title and theme of the Latvia Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale. The Biennale exhibition, titled Saules Suns, will present new site-specific works by Latvian artists Daiga Grantiņa.

Saules Suns is a multi-centred landscape that unfolds around several suns, several sources of light traversing manifold materials and shapes. As if the scene of some cosmological dawn, it opens itself up as a site and moment for the generation of possibilities. The diversity of the shapes that appear across the landscape is strengthened by the multitude of possible perspectives and paths through the installation.

Daiga Grantiņa uses a wide range of everyday materials, from the synthetic to the organic, often inverting and trespassing beyond the limits of their traditional uses. She bends metal into spirals, casts light into shadow, fluffs cotton into fuchsia purple blossoms.

Curator of the exhibition Inga Lāce shares her impressions, stating “the piece is not about synthetic materials, metal spirals or fuchsia purple cotton blossoms, but with the help of these elements something is expressed. Through her own unique manner of expression the artist communicates and sorts the world, simultaneously, providing alternatives to the current state of affairs; it gains magnitude in an environment of heightened populism and fake news, when the verbal means of communication tend to fail. It reminds of arts’ fundamental characteristic – to search for an alternative language beyond words, stories and it is especially important in this moment and, of course, in the context of the Biennale.”

The curators of the exhibition claim that “this year marks a unique situation when all three Baltic pavilions have chosen to work with internationally recognised emerging female artists. In the case of Latvia, this is the first time when the Pavilion exhibits a solo exposition of a female artist as hitherto, they have participated in duos or group shows, or the solo exhibitions have been created by male artists. We believe that the time is right for a shift to take place, thinking of it as a positive sign for the aggregate development of Latvia’s art scene towards openness for diversity.”

The Minister for Culture, Dace Melbārde states “We realize that this year we head in the opposite direction – the artist creating Latvia’s pavilion for the 58th Venice Art Biennale has first gained international recognition to only afterwards, in a strong and confident manner, establish her role locally. We believe that by having worked side by side with international art professionals the artists Daiga Grantiņa will ensure additional regard for Latvia at the Biennale.”

The organizers of the Latvian pavilion would like to express their gratitude to the general supporters of the project, The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Jānis Zuzāns and SIA Alfor and to the supporters of the exposition, Arctic Paper, Krassky interior showroom, Magnum NT and Delfi.

Celebrating the event, the official website of Latvian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale www.latvianpavilion2019.lv has been launched!


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